Uniden BCD536HP HomePatrol Series Digital Phase 2 Base/Mobile Scanner with HPDB and Wi-Fi. Simple Programming, TrunkTracker V, S.A.M.E. Emergency/Weather Alert. Covers USA and Canada.

Very nice scanner with many options really a professional piece of equipment. Unidens sentinel program is a big help programming the scanner and also some very nice instructions on YouTube. I noticed that a lot of people on Amazon go for the pre-programmed option on Amazon this is not necessary with the Sentinel program. save yourself some dough and do it yourself this is my first Scanner and I figured it out The scanner comes with a microSD card whent you install the Sentinel program on your computer you can simply plug the micro SD card into your computer and program it for your area

Date of manufacturer was 2013, guess they did not move off the shelves. Did not operate on power up, could not find any stations at all. Figured due to date of manufacture, it was obvious to me that it was out of date because the local police and fire frequencies were not correct. Tried to do database update, but the new database required a firmware update before it would load the DB. Did the FW and then the DB and all was well. Set my zip code and we were off to the races. As for the remote SW for my iOS iPad. It works but they really put no effort into doing a great remote app. As for the Sentinal SW for the PC, it uses dated methods of organizing the various functions. This app is in search of a well organized GUI..... Electricly it is a very good scanner, good sensitivity but could use bit more selectivity. Only negative is that when using an external speaker, the plug for external speaker does not turn off the internal speaker. This causes audio level problems and reduces the ability to control the audio in graceful way. Once you get past the growing pains it is a fine performing scanner, but I can’t justify 5 stars.

Goes offline at least twice a day. Unplugging and reinserting the dongle usually fixes it but occasionally the scanner has to be rebooted.

Hard to program, not knowing if its a p-25 trunk, p25x2-tdma,p25 one frequency, then if you try and program using your zip code,they said 30 miles. Well it loaded every frequency for whole state of Alaska. Now have reset scanner to blank and will start again. All digital scanners I have purchased (3) have been difficult not knowing what channels. Not as user-friendly as the older scanners.

Another great product from Uniden. App does work but Im guessing its been abandoned by Uniden. Shame, as it would have been great for updates and more stability.

Great scanner, works as advertised

Top of the line digital scanner including phase 2 digital, with a corresponding top of the line price. Have a lot of phase 1 and 2 systems in the area and the radio has clear p25 reception. The benefits of the HP-1 in terms of loading systems but still having the control over the system like the 966xt with a very similar menu system. Appears to be at least as sensitive as both of those radios (have both). Can create your own favorites listings of frequencies, systems etc regardless of whether they are in the downloaded regularly updating database. Have been using scanners since crystals and have a dozen of them. This is one of my favorites. Still waiting to find out what they do with the Wifi, which connects to my home network but doesnt do anything yet.

Works Great:I have had this for 3 months without a glitch. If you need to listen to a Motorola or Harris P25 public safety system this is the best way to go for most people. Previously I was using a Motorola Spectra to listen to this system in analog mode (I have skills). But the county switched to P25 and shut me out. So this Christmas after a long delay I treated myself to a BCD536HP. Pros: Very sensitive receiver Receives analog and P25 digital and capable to upgrade the common digital modes Provoice and DMR at small cost. Small, well appointed controls, WiFi connectivity for Android and IOS. Powerful audio (when used with an external speaker) Easy to upgrade firmware and channels using Sentinel. Cons; You will have to get latest firmware and channels using Sentinel to get started. Not hard to do, it requires a PC and a USB cable (supplied). Ditch the internal speaker, plug in an external communications speaker 3 or 4 inch diameter. Getting Started Programming can be somewhat frustrating for the newbie. I am used to programming commercial LMR radios and understand all the parameters. So I would say I am expert, however this experience turns out to be unneeded and perhaps misleads me. This radio is quite different in that Sentinel will download a fire hose full of nationwide channels. Your radio will require you to provide your Zip code (or connect optional GPS) and it will activate all the systems in a radius you provide. This will probably be way more than you need. The solution is to use Sentinel to create a Favorites List and use Quick Keys to activate only the channels or systems you wish. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time pressing the Avoid Button to ignore the dog catcher (no kidding). The database comes FREE from www.Radioreference.com Visit that site, the forums etc, and learn about the system you wish to monitor. Simulcast Systems You will hear a lot of favorable and unfavorable things about this receiver. The largest complaint is the reception of P25 simulcast systems. It is true that the scanners available today (Both Uniden and Whistler) use a discriminator to decode the P25 signal. This is not the best way to decode P25 in a simulcast system. The best way is a DSP receiver, and you can only obtain that by buying a Motorola, Harris radio (which you cannot legally program properly), a Pricey Unification Pager, or set up a software defined radio (for geeks). Personally my experience is that my radio works fine on my local simulcast system and I am in an overlap area. Occasionally the bit error rate is high and the audio garbles. P25 itself is not a perfect mode and you will find dispatchers and officers sound like the have marbles in their mouths. It is the nature of P25. If you have any concerns contact local users and ask them their experience with this scanner in your area. Encryption If your local agency uses encryption on some or all of their talk groups you will NOT be able to decode them. The radio lacks an encryption card and even if equipped you would NEVER be able to obtain the lengthy 256 bit key. It would be illegal as well. If I havent scared you off, you will be very pleased after you get it up and running. Uniden also makes a portable version of this radio, the BCD436HP. I bought the mobile/base version as then I do not have to worry about batteries and the BCD536HP has better shielding and so receives with less noise.

What a scanner! I have had scanners from the day they were presented. This BCD536HD has to be the one that is so impressive. I like the way it hooks up to my PC and the way I can program frequency and favorite channels. Before I purchased this rig I was told that trunk tracking was not in my area. Well the joke is on the one that gave me this info. I hear many trunk frequencys and they use P25. The only thing I dont like is the speaker is underneath. I will purchase an external speaker for a clearer sound. I did purchase the program ARC536PRO and it is a great program for virtual control on PC. I did learn a lot from other users on http://www.radioreference.com/ and video on YouTube.com. If you are thinking of getting this scanner, dont hesitate, it is a great receiver.

Confession: Im BRAND NEW to the scanner hobby. There, now that thats out of the way. The 536HP is an absolute TOP OF THE LINE product! After spending quite a bit of time learning how this darn thing really works, the results are pretty darn amazing. Initially I was quite frustrated at the lack of channels that I could listen to in my immediate area even though I live in a major metropolitan area. A little research helped considerably so I purchased a much better antenna, placed it outside, spent a few hours reading over the manual and watching some youtube videos and actually found some listenable local channels. Spent some more time researching and learned some of the actual features of this scanner and how they work. There are an AMAZING amount of things that can be done with this scanner. If I had to do it again, I would start by doing more research, especially about antennas and proper placement for better reception. This is an unbelievably powerful scanner that quite honestly, with the right antenna, is plug and play right out of the box. FWIW I live in an Apartment with a lot of RF interference. After putting a decent antenna outside it really opened up the reception for me. I can understand the reviews that say that this is a complicated scanner and agree to a point. Ive spent quite a few hours getting this thing to where I understand it.